Titanic Belfast: Putting Northern Ireland's capital back on the map

Titanic Belfast has already been nicknamed The Iceberg. A neck-craning 125ft tall, resembling the immense hulls of four ocean-liners and clad in glistening silver shards, it's not difficult to see why.

This 150,000 sq ft exhibition space, which cost almost £100million to build, opened its doors on March 31, marking the centenary of Titanic's completion. The world's biggest Titanic attraction, she rises from the dockside where her namesake was created, in what was once the busiest shipyard in the world.

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Standing outside on the redundant slipway, it's hard to imagine the glory days of the 1900s, when Belfast was a thriving international hub for the linen, tobacco and ropemaking industries.

But walk through the exhibition's glass-roofed entrance hall, enter Gallery One and you're back in boomtime Belfast, striding to work alongside flat-capped yard workers, swerving at the clatter of horses' hooves on the cobbles and jumping at the whistle of steam behind you.

It's a sensory experience that encourages visitors to empathise with the people of the era. You can really feel the optimism that filled Belfast's streets back then.

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In Gallery Two, a lift shoots 70ft up a reconstruction of one of the huge pillars of the giant Arrol Gantry, for years a Belfast landmark, as if to start a day's work, hammering iron rivets into Titanic's inch-thick steel plates.

Across nine galleries altogether, visitors are guided on a journey through the ship's lifespan, from her conception and construction to her resting place, 13,000ft deep on the Atlantic seabed.

Historic journey: A postcard featuring the legendary liner

'This is not a traditional museum,' says local tour guide Dee Morgan. 'You won't find any old spoons and dusty suitcases here.'

And she is right, I realise, as I dance around on the interactive floor panels, ride a steel cart through the giant gantry and pilot a submersible craft in search of underwater artefacts - experiences that bring Titanic back to life through 3D film and talking holograms, rather than rusty relics.

In Gallery Seven, icy air fills your nostrils as you look down to find watery ripples licking at your shoes and hear the fervent clicking of Morse Code.

But rather than dramatise the sinking, this exhibition is about celebrating the craftsmanship behind the boat. 'In Belfast, everyone's granddaddy built the Titanic,' Dee explains. 'We're proud to be reviving our heritage.' Every so often, the exhibition reconnects with the landscape outside - the dry dock beneath, the original drawing offices, the River Lagan where the Titanic first set sail - reminding visitors that this building could not have been placed anywhere else in the world.

Until recently, 'Titanic' was a dirty word in Belfast - the city was eager to erase its connection with the greatest maritime disaster in history. But this innovative exhibition is about bringing the Titanic back to the Belfast of today, using the epic story of her creation to put Northern Ireland's capital back on the map.

Getting there

Titanic Belfast is open from 9am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday; 10am to 5pm Sundays; and 10am to 5pm every day between October and March. Entrance tickets include all interactive experiences and cost £13.50 for adults and £6.75 for children up to the age of 16.

Entrance is free for under-fives. For further information and tickets, visit titanicbelfast.com.